Sefik Türk - Mayor of çarikli (Diyarbakir)

September 2000

During the last twenty years, violence prevailed and had changed our way of life. Each of us knows the result : burned villages, displaced people, destroyed lives ... After 20 years of war, a dialogue starts to being instaured however. Nowadays, there are more possibilities to find a common ground, even it is not the one we could wish, but if we compare to the past, positive developments have appeared. We are not prepared to that new way of life, but we could say that the State is like us and has to face the new situation. Everybody try to adapt and to understand this new environment, and it is not simple. 

Some people – from which are members of government – support the precedent violence, and that can explain the provocative acts that happen again sometimes. There is a struggle between the partisans of peace and its opponents, the partisans of democracy and its opponents. The debate about this topic in nexspapers is important for us, and positive. Opinions will not change easily, and we need time for making an agreement and organizing ourselves. Sacrifices and efforts will be necessary to allow the instauration of peace and should be accepted by everybody : democrates, workers, state members… Presently, we lack to distance for evaluating events. 

In the region, there is not direct repression, but an undirect oppression concerning the problem of freedoms of expression, to practice our culture, our language and our music. These last years, 57 Kurdish records have been forbidden, some Human’s rights des associations have been closed or are still closed. Things will not change easily and we should fight for people have the possibility to return in their villages and cultivate their lands. There is none programme for they come back in their homeland : their houses have been burnt, sometimes they go at morning to their villages and they leave it at evening. We want a quick resolution of that problem and it is necessary for that to compensate the peasants for they can rebuild... Of course, it will take a lot of time. 

Turkey is candidate to the European Union and European countries have to face their responsibilities by actions, especially in the Parliament. They can exige the setting of conditions that could allow democracy and use their influence. In Turkey, we can notice some changes if we compare to the seventies : many MP’s or leaders of parties wish an evolution, but can not express freely. Then, for example, Mesut Yilmaz came to Diyarbakir and talked about the entrance in the European Union, but he can not express in the same way in his own party. Devlet Baçale (MHP) came too for meeting the mayors of Diyarbakir, and it was positive, but he does not the same speech when he adresses to his party or to the public. If they carry on in this way, it would help to develop democracy and peace, but there so such pressures that they are obliged before to prepare the public opinion. 

Çarikli is a commune situated about 8 km from Diyarbakir and had recently access to the rank of municipality. It is not easy to be a HADEP mayor and we should face to many problems. After the elections, we have had received no help and we had to face many difficulties : there were pressures, interventions against us, but it discreases a few, now...

The population here is about 7.000 and we have many problems of canalisations, waters, road network... The main cause is that 90 % of inhabitants come from destroyed villages and are without shelter. These refugees are poor and our services have no means for helping them : we reveice no help from the State, neither material help, nor financial. The economical situation is very bad and does not allow to our citizens to hep financially our commune, even if we have from them an important moral support. Some inhabitants work like beasts of burden ; there is not much work in the fields and most of people should search jobs in metropolis. Hundred of families are in need, and their children can not go to school. They have to do hard works in the fileds of cotton. There is no work and some of them do from 700 to 900 km without finding. 

The situation of the municipality is too difficult. We have few means for our municipality is new. Then, since one year, we rent a taxi for working. The State gives means of transport to other municipalities but not to ours, though we lack of engine-fire, bulldozers, material..., but we receive no help and we should do with our own means. For that reason we wait for the support of Europa. Here, people organize themselves, even if they have problems, they unit each other to support their municipality. French people and their mayors can use their influence for helping us, especially concerning transports. There are 7.000 citizens here, but we have no car, ambulance, etc. We transport dieased persons by taxi or minibus : it is very hard. 

But we believe that it is possible to resolve these problems, in spite of the opposition of the State. We don’t renounce front of difficulties, because we are here for helping people and we want to be worthies of these who elected us and bring them all the support they need. Our citizens know the situation, the difference of treatment that is done to our municipality. We know it and try to remedy.

Last year, I went to Europa for establishing some relations with European municipalities, but I have had no result, and it makes me unhappy. The European towns can bring their help and the support we need and inform Europa about our situation.

There was a heavy repression against the HADEP that prevented us to work, but the situation is changed and we benefit the support of our citizens. The HADEP asks for democracy and peace and can be a representative party in the public affairs in Turkey. It adresses to everybody, it is the most important party in the region and can be it in Turkey and enter to the Parliament. 

There are still undirect repressions, especially by the mean of trials against representatives of the HADEP, for some people do not accept its success and fear that it wins other municipalities.

A trial is going on against Murat Bozlak, our President, and it prevents him to have political activities. Most of our representatives are in the same situation. In spite of this, he tries to create an initiative in a democratic mind, in order to unit Turks and Kurds and to strenghen the unity of our party.